Council moves forward with code rewrite: sustainability overlay deleted, rules moved into Chapter 15 for clearer compliance

The council received a detailed presentation July 15 on proposed amendments to Chapter 15 of the Leon Valley Zoning Ordinance that would delete the standalone Sustainability and Commercial‑Industrial overlay districts, retain the Gateway overlay, and move many permitted design regulations into the primary Chapter 15 district rules. City Manager Dr. Caldera and Planning and Zoning Director Susanna Huerta described a multi‑year process. Dr. Caldera said earlier council direction and a legal review prompted the rewrite: some overlay provisions conflicted with subsequent state law changes restricting regulation of building materials and aesthetics. Susanna Huerta said the proposed change keeps legally allowable standards — such as landscaping, lighting and parking — but places them within the commercial and industrial districts to make the code easier for applicants and staff to use. Huerta told the council the proposed amendments add two residential district categories, remove the MX‑one mixed‑use district, move sustainability provisions into Chapter 15, and change the permitted‑use table so uses previously prohibited by overlay districts would revert to the underlying zone unless specifically restricted. She said staff mailed about 1,100 notices to property owners within the affected areas and received roughly ten letters of concern, largely because the legal notice language was dense and some recipients thought the notice announced new development rather than a code amendment. Public commenters, including residents and former council members, urged clearer public notices and recommended focusing on practical elements such as streetscape, the planned development (PDD) criteria, and enforcement. Several council members asked that the rewrite be adopted in stages: move the code now to comply with state law and improve usability, then hold workshops to refine streetscape, PDD criteria, and other contested provisions. Ending: Council did not adopt final amendments on July 15 (first reading required under charter). Staff said it will place the proposed ordinance for future adoption and recommended a staged approach — adopt the rewrite to comply with state law and then address PDD, streetscape and similar topics in separate follow‑up meetings or workshops.